Arrhythmia Surgery / Atrial Fibrillation
Surgical treatment of atrial fibrillation (AF) can be divided into two groups. The first group of patients are those who have another disease that causes AF and requires surgical treatment. In this group of patients, “ablation” surgery to treat AF can be performed along with heart surgery for their current problem (coronary bypass surgery, valve disease surgery). The success rate of this type of surgery to turn it to sinus rhythm is about 85% for 2 years.
The second group of patients are those who have only AF without another heart disease. In this group of patients, “ablation” surgery with smaller surgical incisions (using minimally invasive methods) can be performed to bring it into sinus rhythm and treat AF. In our clinic, this type of ablation surgery can be performed in these patients with surgical incisions of about 3 centimeters under the right and left breast, which is performed in only a few centers in the world.
Thus, atrial fibrillation is a cardiac arrhythmia with life-threatening complications that occurs in association with various cardiac diseases or sometimes alone and affects the quality of life. Although medications and angiographic treatments are available, success rates are not very high. Atrial fibrillation is a condition that can be treated surgically, either in conjunction with various cardiac disorders or alone. This type of cardiac surgery has been successfully performed at our hospital for the past five years.